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Winter Happening Events Will Be Saturday, Jan. 19

Submitted by Karen Bos on Wed, 2007-12-19 01:10

The battle against cancer, Shakespeare and Christianity, and a poet's affectionate look at small-town high school basketball will be among the topics featured during the annual Hope College Happening on Saturday, Jan. 19.

Winter Happening will feature multiple seminars in two blocks in the morning, a luncheon with musical entertainment and a home men's basketball game. The event is sponsored by the college's office of public and community relations, and is open to the general public.

The morning will feature six seminars, three at 9:30 a.m. and three at 11 a.m.

The 9:30 a.m. seminars are: "Shakespeare and Christianity," "Michigan's Tax System - SBT to MBT to CAT (confused accountants and taxpayers)" and "Can Students at Hope College Help Find a Cure for Cancer?" The 11 a.m. seminars are: "Photography: Past and Present Tense," "Hoosiers in SpoonRiver" and "Photoresponsive Materials - Using Light to Change Stuff."

"Shakespeare and Christianity" will reflect on ways to consider Shakespeare's plays in light of the Christian faith by considering both the playwright and his times. The seminar will be presented by Dr. John Cox, who is the DuMez Professor of English and author of the recently published book "Seeming Knowledge: Shakespeare and Skeptical Faith."

"Michigan's Tax System - SBT to MBT to CAT (confused accountants and taxpayers)" will review the substantial change to Michigan business taxation, including the state legislature's recent actions concerning the service tax and particularly the implications of the new Michigan Business Tax which replaces the Single Business Tax. The seminar will be presented by Herbert Martin, associate professor of management.

"Can Students at Hope College Help Find a Cure for Cancer?" will discuss on-going faculty-student collaborative research at Hope on vascular cells that explores genetic activity that plays a role in the development of cancer, and implications of the work for diagnosis and treatment of the disease. The seminar will be presented by Dr. Maria Burnatowska-Hledin, professor of biology and chemistry.

"Photography: Past and Present Tense" will provide an overview of the history of the medium of photography and its impact over the past 200 years throughout various cultures and across disciplines ranging from science to art. The seminar will be presented by Steve Nelson, associate professor of art and chairperson of the department, who will examine his personal fine art photography as well.

"Hoosiers in SpoonRiver" will feature a reading by poet Jack Ridl from his collection "Losing Season," scheduled to be published later this year. Through the lens of a high school basketball season, the book looks at life in a small town. A professor emeritus of English, Ridl was recently named one of the most influential sports educators in America, recognized as "sports poet," by the Institute for International Sport.

"Photoresponsive Materials - Using Light to Change Stuff" will consider the science behind everyday items like glasses that darken automatically in bright sunlight and implications of the technology for the future, including potentially high-capacity data storage applications. The seminar will be presented by Dr. Jason Gillmore, assistant professor of chemistry.

The luncheon begins at 12:30 p.m. at the Haworth Inn and ConferenceCenter ballroom, and costs $12 per person. Highlights will include a musical presentation by the Luminescence women's a cappella group. Reservations for the luncheon are required.

The men's basketball team will host AdrianCollege at 3 p.m. at the DeVos Fieldhouse. Tickets are $6, and a limited number of general admission tickets will be available for persons attending other Winter Happening events.

Also during the day, the men's and women's swimming teams will host the Illinois-Michigan Quad Tournament at 1 p.m. at the Holland Aquatic Center. In addition to Hope, the colleges with teams competing are Kalamazoo College; Lake Forest College of Illinois; and Wheaton College of Illinois.

The gallery of the De Pree Art Center will be featuring the exhibition "Changing Identity: Recent Works by Women Artists from Vietnam." The exhibition runs Monday, Jan. 7, through Friday, Feb. 1. The gallery is open Mondays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free.

In addition to being required for the luncheon, advance registration is recommended for the seminars. Additional information may be obtained by calling the college's office of public and community relations at (616) 395-7860 or online at www.hope.edu/pr/08WinterHappening.html

Registration during the morning of the event will be from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Haworth Inn and Conference Center, located facing College Avenue between Ninth and 10th streets.